However, tongue-tie is also a medical condition that affects many children (and adults), particularly infants who are breastfeeding.
Research suggests that it occurs in 4-5 percent of newborns, but potentially up to 10 percent.
If the condition is not caught early on, there can be multiple negative effects down the road.
If the condition is recognized, a procedure can "release" the tongue-tie, typically done by clipping it with scissors or using lasers or a scalpel. In babies, it's a simple and well-tolerated procedure with a relatively short recovery period.
However, if the release takes place at an older age, orofacial myofunctional therapy is an integral part of the recovery process, because the brain has already hard-wired patterns of muscle function.
Symptoms in teens and adults may include trouble swallowing, resistance to certain food textures, head and neck pain, and grinding of teeth (nocturnal bruxism).
Listen in as Nicole Archambault Besson EdS, MS, an orofacial myofunctional therapist, joins Dr. Susanne to share more about the signs and symptoms of a tongue-tie, as well as what can be done to address it.
Listen in as Nicole Archambault Besson EdS, MS, an orofacial myofunctional therapist, joins Dr. Susanne to share more about the signs and symptoms of a tongue-tie, as well as what can be done to address it.
Nicole Archambault Besson, EdS, MS, CCC-SLP, CLEC is an ASHA board certified speech-language pathologist, orofacial myofunctional therapist (OMT), and sleep literacy advocate. She is the founder and executive director of Minds In Motion, a pediatric clinic in Santa Monica, California. As an OMT, Nicole devotes a large portion of her clinical practice to working with oral dysfunctions resulting from restricted lingual frenula (aka, tongue-ties).